Pages

History

The Band was formed in 1919 by a group of ex-servicemen who wished to continue their musical interests in civilian life. The band was originally called the Northampton Military Band. In 1976 the name was changed to the Northampton Concert Band to reflect the increase in membership of younger musicians and the wider repertoire of music played.

In 1991 the band entered the National Wind Band Festival for the first time and was pleased to receive Gold awards in the Community Section in both the heats and the finals. In 1992 the band moved up to the Open Section where it received Silver awards in the heats and finals.

In January 1993 the band won the top award for Wind Bands, a Gold award in the Open Section. It also gained an invitation to compete in the National finals for the third consecutive year where it received another Silver award. In 1998 the band again won a place in the final of the National Wind Band Festival which was held at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. The band won a Silver award for its performances of Festive Overture by Alfred Reed, New Horizons by Gordon Langford with the solo part performed by the band's principal cornet player Chris Cox, and the Overture to Candide by Leonard Bernstein.

In 2004 the band gained a Gold award in the regional heats playing Portrait Of A City and When The Stars Begin To Fall and a Silver award in the finals in Manchester in March 2005. We performed Finnegan's Wake, Schindler's List, Over Hill - Over Dale, and Lone Star Overture, conducted by Andrew Bassey. In November 2005 the band once again received a Silver award in the regional heats playing Tall Ships, Song of Lir and Sketches of the Great Wall. In November 2006 the band won a gold award playing Malcolm Arnold's March from the Little Suite, James Curnow’s Euphonium Rhapsody (Robin Kempton, Soloist) and Fergall Carroll’s Winter Dances.

In November 2007 the band won a gold award playing Guy Woolfenden's Celebration and in April 2008 at the National Wind Band Festival gained a Gold award for its performance of Paul Hart’s 'Skyrider' and Philip Sparke’s 'To a New Dawn'. More recently, in November 2008 the band won a Silver Award for it’s performance of Fergal Carroll’s ‘Silverwinds’, local composer David Haddon’s ‘Elegy’ and the March from Gordon Jacob’s ‘Original Suite’. The band's November 2008 festival performance drew praise from Philip Sparke for ‘traditional values of balance, musicianship, detailed preparation and musical expression”.

1955

1985

1993

2008

A special mention should be made of Mr Harold Colman, an eminent Northampton Musician who directed the band for over 50 years until 2002. Having spent 1941 to 1945 as a musician with the Central Band of the Royal Air Force, Harold joined the Northampton Military Band as a player in 1946, on the recommendation of fellow members of the New Theatre pit orchestra. He subsequently took over as Musical Director. He has conducted many groups in and around Northampton, including the founding of the Northamptonshire County Youth Orchestra in the days before the Music Service. Harold continued to conduct the Kettering Symphony Orchestra until 2009 and to play violin in the Northampton Symphony Orchestra and cello in his own string trio. All in all a well known and highly respected figure in a variety of different musical circles, both locally and nationally. Harold passed away in 2015 at the age of 93.